


you go to my head (like the bubbles in champagne)

by interstellarbeams



Category: The Mayor (2017)
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Drunken Shenanigans, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Love Confessions, post 1x05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 20:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12778986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellarbeams/pseuds/interstellarbeams
Summary: After their hug, Val tries to pretend like nothing happened between her and Courtney but then she makes everything worseakaignoring your problems does not improve them.





	you go to my head (like the bubbles in champagne)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks Nora ([GreenFish](http://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenFish)) for being my amazing beta! You always make everything better! <3
> 
> Requested by Denise. I hope you love it and thanks for all the help!

Val should have known better. 

She’d wanted to keep their relationship strictly professional, but apparently, her emotions had had other plans. As soon as Courtney had come to her with hurt feelings over the loss of his mother's support, she felt a pang, and had immediately wanted to comfort him.

She blamed it on the Ambien, but lying in bed now, prone with sleeplessness, her cheeks flushed with shame. 

_I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I hugged him_ , she thought, clutching her pillow to her cheek.

She couldn't let him know how much she really liked him, when half the time she pretended like she couldn't stand him. 

It was a precedent, really. 

She had treated him like that since their sophomore year of high school. He’d never believe _otherwise_ after all these years.

Val had never been a very demonstrative person: even as a child, she was more likely to beam in pride over praise from her parents, than to jump up to hug or kiss them. 

That was just her way. 

Turning over, she yanked at the covers, feeling more frustrated at herself than at the unyielding blankets. Punching her pillow, Val grumbled under her breath as she flopped back down.

_Okay, so you hugged him. What's the worst that could happen?_

__

__

_He tells his best friends? His mom?_

_Actually, that could be worse. His mom hated her. Or at least, disliked her. She could never really tell._

He _did_ seem to need the comforting, though. That was the only thought that made her feel better about the whole thing. 

Val struggled for over an hour with her thoughts -- memories of their shared embrace turning over and over in her head. Finally, after what seemed like an endless age, she managed to drift off to sleep. 

\-----

Val brushed her doubts off the next morning, pointedly ignoring Courtney's questioning looks; instead choosing to focus on the office’s normal morning chatter and the overcrowded itinerary on the desk in front of her. She had to suppress a yawn as she pored over the events of the day. 

_Maybe I should get some coffee._ She normally avoided caffeine so she wouldn’t be up half the night, but her will was waning, as she felt fatigue from the prior night’s restlessness setting in. 

TK and Jermaine were quibbling over which non-dairy creamer was the best choice for Courtney’s morning joe, when she saw Courtney attempting to corner her in the conference room. _Subtle, he was not._ She evaded him with a quick excuse me and escaped into the ladies’ room.

\-----

 

Later that afternoon, Val was enjoying a quick lunch at her desk, when she caught a glimpse of Courtney’s denim jacket out of the corner of her eye. She immediately ducked under her desk, out of sight. 

“Ah, _there_ it is!” she pronounced loudly a few minutes later, popping up after his sneaker-clad feet had passed by. 

_Another_ close one, Val thought worriedly, as she straightened her blouse and blazer and ignored the odd looks from her coworkers. 

She stood next to him during the afternoon press conference, praying it would end sooner rather than later. A polite smile graced her face, but inside she felt frantic -- gearing up to rush out of the press room as quickly as possible. 

_God, please let TK or Jermaine distract him. Keep him busy, please._

She finally managed to escape to her Uber without a “Courtney confrontation,” but the resulting effort of avoiding him all day had given her a massive stress headache. _Thank God today is over_ , she thought triumphantly, massaging her temples as she relaxed into the backseat.

Val walked the last few blocks to her apartment, stopping off at the corner store to buy a bottle of wine. She usually preferred wines above the six-dollar mark, but the signature footprint on the magenta-labeled Barefoot Sweet Red Wine was calling her name. 

“ _Pink wine makes me slutty_ ,” she giggled to herself, remembering a funny line from one of her favorite TV shows. Without an ounce of shame, she set the cheap wine on the counter, smirking at the cashier as he glanced at the bottle, and then at her. “It’s just one of those days,” she explained as she handed him a ten dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

He nodded knowingly, saluting her cheerfully as she left the store.

As soon as she arrived at her apartment, Val dumped her handbag and kicked off her high heels. Making a beeline for the kitchen, she pulled out a wine glass, fumbling for a corkscrew in her overstuffed utensil drawer.

Val took the first sickly-sweet sip, right there, standing in the kitchen, with her hip pressed against the countertop. 

It felt good.

\-----

Hours later, Val was staring mournfully at the empty bottle of wine perched on her coffee table, as credits scrolled across her TV screen. She was surprised to see the end of a movie that she hadn’t really remembered watching. 

Val stood up from the couch and stretched. She immediately felt a crick in her neck, and groaned in frustration. 

“Apparently the wine wasn't strong enough to deal with _that_ ,” she spoke aloud, stumbling her way down the hallway as she stripped her clothing, piece by piece, and made her way to the bathroom. 

She turned the tub faucet on, and dumped a good dose of lavender bubble bath in. Sitting atop the toilet seat, she watched the steam curl and bubbles slowly start to form, as she finished removing her pants.

Val heard the clunk of something hitting the bathroom floor. Bending down unsteadily, she picked her cell phone off of the bath mat, brushing it off for good measure. She pulled a fluffy white towel out of the linen closet, placing it atop the closed toilet lid, before laying her phone on the towel.

She sighed in relief as she stepped into the tub, the sensation of the warm water covering her body as the relaxing scent of lavender filled her senses. 

_Now, this was how a woman needed to end a day._

Almost as soon as she had rested her head against the edge of the bathtub, the familiar and annoying sound of her work ringtone echoed loudly. 

Val sighed to herself. “This better be important,” she muttered, drying her hands on the edge of the towel. 

“What is it now?” she demanded as she swiped right to answer the call.

“Uh -- hey, Val. It's Courtney. You know-- the Mayor.” Courtney’s familiar, upbeat voice immediately soothed her irritation. 

She responded, her voice far less astringent than before, almost peppy, “The Mayor? _Oh, yeah._ I think I know someone who goes by that name.” Val smiled into the phone, not even realizing how goofy and wide her grin was. 

The wine had almost made her forget she’d spent most of the day avoiding him.

“Very funny,” Courtney huffed. There was a short pause, and she could hear him clearing his throat. “Anyways, I, uh, just wanted to, uh -- call you and ask you about that hug, um, yesterday. You know. Between us.”

_Almost._

She barked out a laugh. “Oh, uh. _That? Courtney._ That was -- _nothing_. I told you, it was just the Ambien talking… or, um, _acting_?” A giggle escaped her, and the next thing she knew, she was full-out laughing, for no reason.

“ _Val_? Are you drunk?” Courtney asked. She registered the surprise in his voice, but was too caught up to feel the indignance she normally would. She managed to snort out an _uh huh_ , along with an exaggerated head nod that he couldn't see. 

If she had been sober, she would have been appalled by how foolish she was acting, but drunk, uninhibited, Barefoot Wine Val didn't care, apparently.

“O-kay,” she heard Courtney say at the other end. “We might have to talk about this later, then.” When she scoffed out loud, he added, “Girl, I think you might be a _little_ out of focus right now.”

“Courtney, please. Of _course_ I can focus,” Val argued while almost simultaneously losing her grip on the phone. She barely managed to catch it right before it made the dip into her tub. “You don't _know_ how much stress I have gone through with this job lately, _mister_ Mayor, OK? You don't get to tell me whether I’m focused.”

“Alright, alright,” Courtney said unconvincingly, but he let it go.

After a beat of silence from Courtney’s end, punctuated by Val’s slightly off-key humming, he spoke up again.

“Anyways, I guess -- I just wanted to tell you that my mom came down, and told me why she really got upset with me, and we fixed it between us. And, um, I don't feel like I let the city down anymore. So… that's that, I guess.”

It was _just_ like Courtney to recover from an existential crisis in a matter of twenty-four hours, she thought. But she also felt her heart warming at the fact that he had worked things out with his mom. If it had been _her_ parents, they’d still be holding the grudge against her, years after the fact. 

“Yay!” Val tried to clap but couldn't quite do it with her phone in hand, so she slapped her free hand against the side of the tub instead. 

Courtney chuckled, “So, uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Um,” Val pressed her finger into her chin, like she was thinking about it. “I guess you will!” 

“Haha, alright. Good night, Miss Val.”

“Alright, Courtney. I love you. Bye!” Val spouted brightly, before hanging up. 

Setting her phone back down, Val rested back up against the tub. Smiling to herself, she replayed the conversation in her head, before suddenly jolting upright in the tub, water splashing everywhere.

“Oh, my God!” she shouted, her voice echoing in the small bathroom.

_Did I just say what I thought I said?_

_Oh God. Stupid, stupid, stupid_ , she berated herself, dunking her whole head under the surface of the water. 

Courtney was _never_ going to let her live that down.

\-----

“Good morning, Miriam!” Val shouted at the security guard as she made her way into the elevator. “I love you!” 

She pressed the button for the second floor, ignoring the jittery, nervous feeling in her stomach and Miriam’s slightly scandalized expression.

“ _Hello_ , Jeff. I _love_ what you're doing with those windows.” she spouted cheerily, heading past the janitor and his cart. He peered through his thick glasses, eyeing her in confusion as she swept past.

“TK! Jermaine!” Val called out, racing up behind them in her shiny black court shoes. 

“I love you guys!” she squealed, a huge, smile making her cheeks tremble as she squeezed them in a group hug. “Just wanted to let you know!”

“What?” they both questioned each other as she popped off down the hall.

Stopping off at the receptionist’s desk, she picked up a few messages for missed calls and _ooh-ed_ and _ah-ed_ over the girl’s flowers from her boyfriend. “I _love_ that color pink,” she smiled at her, right as Courtney breezed past her on his way to his office.

 _Just get through this one day, Val. You can do it!_ she told herself as she set her purse down on her desk and walked to the conference room for another coffee.

“ _Mmm_ , I _really_ love this coffee,” she said to no one in particular as she stood by the coffeemaker. 

“What kind is it?” 

Val nearly jumped a foot in the air. “Courtney! Don't scare me like that.”

“Heh, sorry,” he smiled, looking down at her. After a few moments his smiled turned into a frown of confusion, and she realized he was waiting for her answer.

“Oh, _oh!_ Um, I think it's some kind of Brazilian brand? I’ve never heard of it before, but _I love it_.” 

Courtney gave her an odd look, but he poured himself a cup and sat down at the conference table and started tapping at his phone. 

Val’s thoughts flitted back and forth. _Should I go over there? Stay here? Retreat to my desk?_

_Nope, she thought, steeling herself. No retreat! Barellas never back down from a fight!_

She sat down across from him, setting her coffee cup in front of her. After a half-second, she grabbed a coaster, setting it under the cup. Her hands felt like they were humming, and her chest was tight. _There’s nothing to be worried about_ , she reminded herself. He probably hadn’t even heard her _say_ that last night, right? 

She pulled out her phone as well and started scrolling through her Instagram feed, while surreptitiously watching him. 

_Maybe he wouldn’t even bring up the conversation. That would be good._ Nothing had really happened, anyway. She hadn’t meant anything by it - it was just - her talking. About things.

As she glanced up again, she realized a half-hour had passed, and Courtney had left the room without her even realizing it. _Crap, where did he go?_

She hurried out of the conference room, almost bumping into someone as she rounded the corner.

“Oh! Dina! I’m _so_ sorry. I didn't see you there.”

“I can _see_ that,” Dina replied in her characteristically brusque nature. 

Val cleared her throat uncomfortably. She never really knew what to say to Courtney's mother.

“Have you seen my son?” Dina asked, peering over Val’s shoulder down the hall.

“Oh, no, not really. I was actually about to go and find him!” Val replied, nervously pushing her hair behind her ear.

Dina eyed her suspiciously, but turned away mumbling under her breath about sons who were never where they should be, and his office’s shifty coworkers. 

Val ignored her rather rude remarks and turned down the hall in the opposite direction. She hoped she might catch Courtney at his desk, or maybe on his way out for lunch with TK and Jermaine. 

Frantically searching the halls, even checking the men’s restroom -- _Thank God there weren't any occupants!_ \-- she finally caught sight of his tall frame on the way across the lobby. 

“Courtney!” she called out. Other heads turned curiously at the sound of her voice, but she only saw him.

“Oh - hey, Val,” he said as she came up to him.

She scanned his face, but he appeared normal. Maybe he _hadn’t_ heard what she’d said last night, she thought again with a hint of relief. 

The problem was, Val wasn’t someone who liked living with uncertainty. She dealt with _facts_ , and she needed to settle this. "So, um. About last night…” she began, her eyes shifting down to her toes nervously. 

_What is wrong with me? I’m never nervous. Never._

__

__

I wasn't even nervous when I had to give the valedictorian speech at our graduation.

_Plus, this was Courtney. There was nothing to be worried about. Right?_

“What about it?” Courtney asked innocently. 

Val peered at him, looking for any sign of deception, but his face was a mask.

“So… well, you didn't hear what I said last night, _on the phone_?” Val asked, disbelieving.

“Val,” he said, shaking his head. “I have _no_ clue what you're talking about. You were giggling like crazy - I could barely understand you.” 

A tidal wave of relief washed over her. _Thank God_.

“Oh,” she added, “your mom was around here _somewhere_ … looking for you." She tried to keep the contempt out of her voice. Dina was _his_ mom, after all.

“Ah, alright. Thanks, Val,” Courtney grinned, before turning to head out. 

She blew out a loud breath as she headed back to her office, her heels clicking against the marble floor.

“Oh -- hey, Val!” Courtney called to her out from across the lobby.

“Yes?” she asked, turning her head quickly to catch sight of him jogging up to her. 

“I love you, too,” he winked, smirking as he left City Hall as quickly as he’d come.

_Oh dear. What have I gotten myself into?_


End file.
